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Period: to
Russian Revolution Start to End
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Tsar Nicholas II Crowned Tsar
Nicholas is crowned in May 1896, and succeeds his father (Alexander III) and marries Tsarina Alexandra. Nicholas, who was neither trained, or fit as a ruler, refuses to make changes to the old fashioned ways of ruling in a time period desperate for change and new ideas. He was not ready to rule a country as large as Russia, and yet he had been thrust into the position of supreme power over the worlds largest country. -
Russo - Japanese War
After arguments between Russia and Japan over ports and trade in Asia, a war broke out between Russia and Japan. The Russians had expected an easy victory over the Japanese. However, they were unaware of the fact they were going into the fight with severely outdated weapons and battle tactics. The war was a disaster and they were defeated very quickly. The war oficially ended on September 5, 1905. This caused horrible humiliation and loss of a great deal of Russian land. -
Bloody Sunday
Peaceful protesters marched on St. Petersburg, organized and partially led by Georgy Gapon, a priest of the Orthodox Church. 150,000 peasant and proletariat workers, wives and children, peacefully marched to the tsar’s Winter Palace, protesting about economic conditions. Nicholas was not in the city at the time, and his uncle (Grand Duke Vladamir) tried to stop the march and ordered his police to shoot at the marchers. Over 1000 people died. Massive strikes followed, and chaos ensued -
Revolution of 1905
After Bloody Sunday, the major cities of Russia were hit with strikes by workers. Nicholas responded to the strikes by establishing local elected assemblies (zemstovs). These assemblies did not satisfy the striking laborers, and by October, the strikes had reached such a magnitude that Nicholas signed the October Manifesto which created the Duma, or legislative assembly, to help the Tsar rule. However, he ended up firing them all. The revolts died down around July of 1907. -
March Revolution
The monarchy is overthrown and Nicholas if forced to abdicate the throne and his family is exiled to Siberia, where they were executed after some time. A new form of government led by Alexander Kerensky is "installed". This form of government was only a temporary fix and was removed. The crumbling of the government was partially due to Rasputin and his rumors about the royal family. Josef Stalin saw Rasputin for who he really was, but Rasputin saw the threat right away and got rid of him. -
October Revolution
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladamir Lenin overthrew the provisional Government created by the March Revolution, and seized control of much of Russia. The Bolsheviks then began to remake the principles off Russia's government and society based off of Marxism. This new system was later to be called Communism. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovisk
After the overthrowing of the provisional government, Lenin decided to take action upon WW I. Lenin decided to get the Bolsheviks in the Duma to help influence a decision to drop out of the war, that way Lenin and the Bolsheviks could focus on the Revolution and not the War. The Treaty of Brest-Litovisk was signed between Russia and Germany, ending Russia’s participation in the war. The treaty was hard, and Russia had to give lot of land to Germany, but now Russia could focus on the Revolution. -
Russian Civil War Begins
After the Bolsheviks created the Treaty of Brest-Litovisk, uprisings against the Bolsheviks began. Tension began to grow, and two clear sides emerged; the Red Army (Bolsheviks), and the White Army (anti-Bolsheviks). On top of that,the Provisional Government had just been overthrown by the Bolsheviks. This led to Alexander Kerensky (leader of the Provisional Government) gathering troops to overthrow Lenin and the Bolsheviks. -
Russian Cicil War Ends
After the war had broken out, the Red Army defeated the White Army, and Lenin took control of much of Russia and Siberia. However, some people were still upset about the Bolsheviks having so much power. The Cadets, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries, and others, all joined the White army to fight against the Bolsheviks. Mostly due to the fact that the groups among the White Army hated eachother as much as they did the Bolsheviks, the Red Army won against all odds. -
USSR is Formed
The USSR was a group of countries devoted by Communism. This group was made up of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasia Republic. The USSR was partially led by the Bolsheviks. These countries were formed and named the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Their main purpose and goal was to preserve and uphold Communism.
